How to light a room without a window or blind ?
Having a windowless room in your home, or a blind room, can be a real challenge when furnishing. Many defects can impact this type of room, for example, a lack of light, a lack of ventilation or a feeling of suffocation, etc. However, by working on the layout of the space, the decoration and the lighting, the room can become more pleasant to live in and brighter. Discover, with Hoopzï, all our tips and advice for fitting out this room.
Understanding the Challenges of a Windowless Room
A windowless room, also called a blind room, is defined by the absence of an opening to the outside. This room therefore does not benefit from any direct natural light.
Often criticized for its lack of light and ventilation, This part has a bad reputation and can be considered useless. Some people may feel a sensation of discomfort or even suffocation. It is also important to know that the lack of opening to the outside can have an impact on the well-being and health of the occupants (disruption of the internal clock, headaches, etc.).
In addition, a room without windows can be a challenge when designing the interior. Indeed, By playing with space, thoughtful layout, decoration or adding light, a blind room can quickly become a useful, comfortable and pleasant room.
Tips for Maximizing Natural Light
There are several tips for optimizing the layout of a room without a window and making it brighter. :
The glass roof
This is the most effective solution when furnishing a room without a window. If you own your home and have the opportunity to carry out work, opening up the room with a glass roof is ideal. This solution, in addition to being trendy, brings natural light and a feeling of enlargement.
If it is a bedroom or a bathroom , the glass used can be worked to let light through while preserving privacy.
The glass or translucent door
Another solution, if it is impossible to break a wall to make a glass roof, the glass door can be considered. The trick is simple, All you have to do is replace the door of the blind room with a glass door that lets in natural light from the other rooms.
The skylight
A skylight is an excellent compromise. However, it is better not to be afraid of the work and to get help from a building professional. Indeed, This involves making a hole in the ceiling of the room to allow light to enter vertically.
What are the best sources of artificial light? ?
Artificial light in a windowless room is essential, especially if it is a living space. You need to think intelligently about where to place the lights. There are a few tricks to make a room without windows pleasant to live in. :
- The position of the lights : if it is a living room, the light must be diffuse and ideally not create areas of shadow.
- The daylight bulb : this bulb can reflect daylight if it has a color rendering index (CRI) close to 100. Hoopzi can advise you in choosing your bulbs.
- Variation of sources : when furnishing a room without windows, such as for a desk for example, it is interesting to think about the positioning of light sources in order to modulate the lighting and vary the light intensity with why not garlands or portable lamps . Be careful not to put too much, however, as this can weigh down the space and maintain the feeling of suffocation present in windowless rooms.
- THE LED bulbs : they can be useful in this type of room, they have the particularity of being able to stay on all day without having a significant electricity consumption.
Discover our lighting and accessories
Playing with color and textures
When you have a room without windows and the inability to do major work, decorating the walls can be an effective and accessible trick. The color of the walls can make a big difference in terms of brightness. Light and bright colors, such as beige or white, are best. : they will in fact reflect artificial lights, increase the brightness and enlarge the room.
Conversely, dark colors will accentuate the effect of darkness present in blind rooms.
By combining a light color with a wall with relief or a different texture, you can play on contrast, materials and this can give the feeling of enlarging the room. For example, you can add wood or light bricks.
Another trend that is accessible when fitting out a room without a window, the addition of reflective materials. The mirror trick may be the quickest solution to implement, the cheapest, and therefore the simplest. Very useful when you are a tenant and you cannot carry out work, the mirror will allow you to enlarge the room, reflect the light, and thus limit the feeling of suffocation of blind rooms.
Illusion of space and light
By combining the colors and texture of the walls of the windowless rooms, the use of natural elements can also affect the brightness of the room and compensate for this initial lack. The plant touch, whether in the form of dried or artificial plants, will bring life and create a pleasant sensation. Creating wall art with outdoor landscapes can also be added to the decoration to give the illusion of being outside and, ultimately, enlarge the blind room.
More and more designer lighting fixtures are present on the market and allow the installation of different lighting such as ASYM floor lamp for example. In the case of rooms without windows, Some light fixtures can be used to diffuse light indirectly. This is particularly the case with layered lighting, which will allow light to be reflected on the surface of the light fixture and on the wall. Thus, we play on the atmosphere of the room, despite the absence of a window, by making it more pleasant, soft and cocooning.
Integration of modern technology
All your lights are in place ? You can also play with a light dimmer. By installing it in place of the switch, you simply play with a wheel to decide the intensity of the lighting according to your needs and this throughout the day.
If you do not opt to add a dimmer switch instead of a simple switch, you can play with smart bulbs. No electrical work is required for this option, a simple application on your phone allows you to control the intensity or color of the bulb. Adjustable at any time, you can, using a voice command, reduce the intensity to watch a film for example.
Conclusion
As you can see, having a room without windows, or a blind room, is a real design challenge to overcome the disadvantages of lack of light. Fortunately, there are many solutions available for all budgets. For the more DIY-minded, development work to get natural light is the best option. For decoration enthusiasts, the use and arrangement of artificial lights and the installation of decorative wall elements will allow you to arrange the dark room. For technology enthusiasts, the use of connected lights and home automation is ideal. Of course, you can use all of these tips at the same time.
The Hoopzi Team.
